Unexpected Surprise in Hanover

                                              "A Dream Come True"



On Saturday, August 22nd, the Richmond Golf Channel Am Tour had the pleasure of holding the Hanover Open on one of the finest courses to be found anywhere in Va. The Arnold Palmer designed Federal Club in Glen Allen, played host to competitors representing 4 Tours in 5 flights.





Upon first arrival at the club, one would begin to wonder why theFederal Club is so highly talked about. With limited parking, small club house, and unique transportation shuttle, the expectations of the course wouldn't be extremely high. 





Once the players reached the practice facility and got their first glimpse of the mammoth new club house under construction ( due to be occupied in December) opinions quickly changed. When play began and the competitors stepped to the first tee, they then realized that the seasons final tournament would be played
on the finest course they had seen all year, if not ever.

The lush immaculate manicured tees and fairways lend to the players thoughts of already wanting to play a good round. Any shot finding the fairway sets up a perfect lie for the next shot. Once on the putting surface the player will soon come to know what the PGA Tour players face each week with speeds that the amateur rarely experiences.

One must not be taken in with the beauty and condition of the Federal Club however as it offers quite the challenge for players of any skill level, from any distance. Carefully placed bunkers, uphill tee shots, carry shots, and fair but penalizing rough will rapidly elevate the score of those that want to challenge the course or hit inaccurate shots. Nothing but rave reviews were heard after the tournament along with the repeated question, "Are we coming back here again next year"?

The dream of the late Tommy Pollard to have a golf course designed by Arnold Palmer has come to fruition, and one he would be very

pleased with.

A "Special Thank You" goes out to the Staff at the Federal Club for their help in making The Hanover Open a very enjoyable day

RESULTS
(click on players name to view full scorecard)

PALMER FLIGHT
San Diego transplant and Tour Rookie, Larry Mosca is definitely a fan of the Federal Club as he posted a spectacular round of 2 over par 74 including an even par inward 9 to gain his first Richmond Golf Channel Am Tour victory. Louis Autry finished 2nd with Craig Crowley 3rd.

  HOGAN FLIGHT
Chris Turner  cleared the eligibility hurdle for the National Championship Tournament by virtue of his 3rd win of the season on Saturday at the Federal Club. Building a lead on the starting 9 holes Turner kept a wary eye on his nearest rival and second place finisher Ferdinand Hudencial as the two came down the stretch. Finishing 3rd was Tom Yeager.

SARAZEN FLIGHT
Continuing to be a formidable opponent in the Sarazen flight, Michael Eaton picked up his 3rd win of the season in the season finale with a 2 shot margin of victory over the steadily improving Nathan Glass. The trio of, Tour newcomer Victor Avillanoza, Chris Heipel and Ronald Velasco all finished tied for 3rd

JONES FLIGHT
In only his 2nd appearance of the season, long time Tour member Doug Zahniser shot one of his best rounds to claim "Top Honors" in the Hanover Open. 1 shot back at the turn, Zahniser got off to a shaky start on the back 9, but righted it to rattle off 5 consecutive pars at the end to finish 2 shots better then runner-up Kenneth Cherry.  DC Tour member Grady Lovett finished 3rd.

SNEAD FLIGHT
After a brief absence from the Richmond Tour, Jeff White made his return memorable by reaffirming to the Snead flight that when he is in the field he is the admirable force to deal with. White claimed the first place trophy with a 4 stroke margin over 2nd place finisher Jamie Iannelli. Maury Gatewood came home in 3rd.